Ketchikan in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
A Look Into the Clan House
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 23, 2026
1. A Look Into the Clan House Marker
Twenty to fifty closely related clan members lived together; working, eating and sleeping under one roof. Lets look back a couple hundred years and see what life was like inside a clan house.
Watch Your Head
As we step through the low, narrow doorway the house seems dark without windows. The smell of cooking food, dried fish and other meat and skins fills the air. Sounds and movement indicate there are many people inside and much activity. The central hearth burns all day providing light, heat and a place to cook food. Men are making and repairing tools and utensils. Women are cooking and sewing. Kids are playing.
Look Around
Hanging from the rafters are strings of shells and dried fish. There are stretched deer and beaver skins along the walls. Scattered on the platform surrounding the fire pit we find busy people, sleeping infants, food storage boxes, baskets, and mats for sleeping. These mats made from cedar bark or the skins of caribou, moose, or mountain goat are rolled up during the day and the platform used as a work area. Relatives sleep in designated areas on the platform and slaves sleep near the doorway. An elaborately
this page online
A Winter’s Home
In late spring and summer, families leave their clan houses to move to resource-rich areas for hunting, fishing and gathering. In late fall they return from their food gathering camps to winter in the comfort of the clan house.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Indigenous Peoples and Communities.
Location. 55° 25.2′ N, 131° 46.369′ W. Marker is in Ketchikan, Alaska, in Ketchikan Gateway Borough. It can be reached from Totem Bight Road. Marker is located in Totem Bight State Historical Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9883 North Tongass Highway, Ketchikan AK 99901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Alaska, in Tlingit and Haida & Tsimshian Region. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, in the Inside Passage, on the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, September 2, 2026
2. A Look Into the Clan House Marker
The A Look Into the Clan House Marker is seen here on the right.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Houses of Heritage (here, next to this marker); Clan House Construction (here, next to this marker); Preserving the Past (here, next to this marker); Aging in the Elements (here, next to this marker); Transforming Trees (a few steps from this marker); Original Artists (a few steps from this marker); Continuing the Cycle (a few steps from this marker); Understanding Totem Poles (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ketchikan.
More about this marker. Photographs on the marker show Natives in the clan house.
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, September 2, 2026
3. Native Clan House
The low, narrow doorway to the clan house can be seen at the base of the center totem pole.
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, September 2, 2026
4. Inside the Clan House
The totems supporting the main beams, the central hearth and the sleeping platforms can be seen inside the clan house.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 15, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 15, 2026, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 13 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 15, 2026, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.
